Personal alarm device



1955 s. s. AIDLIN ET AL I PERSONAL ALARM DEVICE Filed March 24, 1953 NIn llHIHl INVENTOR. Samuel S. Aidlin Robert Fensrer United States PatentPERSONAL ALARM DEVICE Samuel S. Aidiiu, Brooklyn, and Robert Fenster,Jamaica, N. Y.; said Aidlin assignor to said Fenster Application March24, 1953, Serial No. 344,392

11 Claims. (Cl. 116-67) The present invention relates in general tosignal devices and in particular to a personal alarm.

In recent years there has been a great increase in the number ofpersonal attacks of the type known as mugging. In this type of attack,the victim is accosted from the rear by the mugger who usually placeshis arm about the victims throat and also covers the victims mouth toprevent outcries. Consequently, the victim cannot use his voice to callfor help and would be prevented from blowing a police whistle, orsimilar article, if he had one.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention toprovide a personal alarm which can be automatically set off by thevictim even though his mouth may be covered and even in a situationwhere his arms are pinned down. i 7

Since women are frequently the victims of such attacks, another objectis the provision of such an alarm which is simple to operate, of lightweight and small enough to fit into a womans pocket-book or hand bag.

An additional object is the provision of an alarm which sets off twodistinct and diiferent types of sounds.

A further object is the provision of a personal alarm of simplifiedconstruction'which can be inexpensively manufactured for sale at a lowprice.

The present invention in general comprises an alarm constituted by asiren which is operated uponthe release of a charge of a suitablepressurized operating medium. Provision is also made for a whistle whichbecomes audible before the pressure at the siren is high enough tooperate the latter, the whistle becoming supersonic when the sirenbegins to wail, and becoming audible again when the siren ceases tooperate so that the alarm provides a combination of two distinct anddifferent types of sound. 1 a

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood from the following descriptionconsidered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings. 7

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side view, on an enlarged scale, of an alarm device pursuantto the present invention, the device being in inoperative condition, andparts being broken away and in section for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, the device bein in operativecondition, and illustrates a modification;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view taken inthe direction of the arrow 3 inFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; and v Fig. 5is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2, and illustrates an additionalmodification.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the personal alarm or signaldevice 10, as here shown, comprises the preferably cylindrical hollowbody member or casing 12 having one end 14 thereof closed by a cartridge16. A trigger-operated plunger 20 extends into the casing from the otherend 18 thereof.

The cartridge or container 16 is expendable, being of well known typeand containing a charge of a suitable pressurized fluid, such as, forexample and not by way of limitation, carbon dioxide. Cartridges of thistype, filled with a charge of carbon dioxide, are in widespread use, forexample, for whipping cream and for charging water to make seltzer orsoda water. However, in connection with the present invention, thecartridge may contain a charge of compressed air or other pressurizedmedium suitable for operating the siren 22, as hereinafter described indetail. The cartridge is threadedly engaged, in substantially air-tightrelationship, in the open end 14 of the casing 12, as illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2, and is readily replaceable therein. The cartridge issealed with a disc 24, preferably formed of a relatively soft metal.

The hollow casing 12 is provided, intermediate the ends thereof, withthe internal bearing portion 26 which defines the chambers 28 and 30within the casing. The end 18 of the casing is closed by a centrallyapertured cap member 32 through which the plunger 20 extends. Said capis provided, at one end thereof, with a cuppedportion 34 disposed withinthe chamber 30 and with a circular head or button 36, at the other endthereof, which overlies the casing end 18. The cap, in conjunction withthe bearing 26, mounts and guides the plunger 20.

Plunger 20 is a hollow cylindrical tube which is open at the end 38thereof. At its other end, the plunger is closed by a plug 40 whichseats in the inner wall recess 42 of the plunger. The plug is providedwith a sharp pointed end 44 which projects outwardly of the plunger 20.A plurality of passageways or channels 46, of which only one isillustrated in Fig. 2, are formed in the plug and provide communicationbetween the hollow interior of the plunger and the hollow interior ofthe casing 12. The plunger is also provided with an externalcircumferential flange 48. A coil compression spring is mounted on theplunger, one end of the spring abutting the flange 48 and the other endthereof being seated in the cup 34 of the cap 32.

Externally of the casing, the plunger carries a resilient bumper 52,preferably formed of rubber, and on the open end thereof mounts thesiren 22. The siren is provided with a hollow casing 54 having a collar55 which fits over the plunger end 38. A transversely extending portion56 of the casing 54 is provided with a plurality of perforations 58 anddefines the chambers 60 and 62 in the casing. The portion 56 has acentral projection 64 in the shape of a truncated cone, and a pin 66extends through portion 64 into the chamber 62. A siren disc 68, havinga plurality of perforations 70, is mounted for rotation on the pin 66,in the chamber 62. The disc 68 is provided with a plurality of impulsetype blades 72. The end wall 74 of the casing 54 is open, as at 76,opposite the blades 72.

In order to releasably retain the plunger 20 in the retracted, orinoperative disposition thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 1, provision ismade for circumferential recess 78 in the plunger and the cooperatingtrigger or release 80. Said trigger is a planar member which is mountedon the button 36 of cap 32 for slidable movement, transversely of theplunger, being provided with the inturned confronting flanges 82-82which straddle said button, best illustrated in Fig. 3, for retainingthe trigger on the button. The trigger is also provided with the closedslot 84 which tapers from its wider rounded end 86 to its narrowerrounded end 88, and with a finger operating portion 90.

In the retracted disposition of the plunger 20, the latter is Withdrawnfrom the casing 12, to the position thereof illustrated in Fig. 1, tocompress the spring 50.

To releasably retain the'plunger in said position, the narrowend88-ofthe trigger slot 84, is engaged in the recess 78 of the plunger, asillustrated in full line in Fig. 4. It will be understood that in orderto effect said withdrawal of the'plunger' from the position thereofillustrated in Fig. 2, the trigger is disposed originally in the brokenline position thereof, and then retracted 'toit's full line' position toengage in the recess 78.

In order to operate the-alarm 10, it is necessary only to push on thetrigger portion or finger piece 9i) to slide plug 42 into the cartridgeseal 24 to cut an opening 92' therein as in Fig. 2 The expansion'o'f thespring also drives the bumper SZagainst the trigger 'and'compresse's'the resilient bumper. lnthisconnection it will be understood that thespring modulus of spring 59 is such that when the spring is in itsnormal or relaxed condition there is no initial compression thereon.However, there is sufficient spring energy, when the spring iscompressed, to drive the plunger forward to slightly compress thebumper. Consequently, the expansion of the compressed bumper, whichahuts the trigger and the siren 22, to its normal relaxed condition,willbe suflicient to withdraw the point 44 from the cartridge seal 24,the flange '48 on the plunger being retracted from the bearing 26, whichserves also as a detent for the flange. The various parts are nowdisposed in the operative disposition thereof, as in Fig. 2. Uponwithdrawal of the point 44 from the seal opening M, the charge of thepressurized medium escapes from the cartridge into the casing chamber28- from which it flows through the passageways 46 in the plug 40 intothe hollow plunger. The pressurized fluid flows through the plunger, outthe open end 38 thereof and into chamber 64) of the siren 22. Theextension 64 in said chamber directs the flow of the carbon dioxide, orcompressed air, as the case may be, to the openings 58 of the sirenportion 56 from which the pressurized medium flows through the apertures70 in'the rotatable disc 60 and against the impulse blades 72 to rotatethe disc, for operating the siren to produce the typicalsiren wail. Thepressurized fluid flows out of the siren through the opening 76.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the siren will not operateto produce its characteristic wail until the pressure at the disc 63builds up sufflciently to rotate the latter at a predetermined speed andthe siren wail will disappear when the pressure drops off. noted that inFig. 1, the siren 22 constitutes the sole noisemaker of the alarm. inorder to prolong the noisemaking capacity of the alarm, a whistle 94 maybe mounted on the siren, as in Fig. 2 which illustrates the presentlypreferred embodiment of the invention. whistle is energized by the flowof the pressurized medium through the outlet part 76 of'the siren 22. Inthis connection, as is well known to those skilled in the art, a

whistle will operate at very low pressures, as compared with a siren.For example, the whistle 92 may require a pressure ofonly a few ouncesper square inch to be operative, whereas the siren 22 may require apressure abovefive pounds per square inch to be operative. Consequently,in the construction of Fig. 2, the initial fluid pressure of thepressurized medium arriving at the siren will not be high enough tooperate the latter but will be high enough to blow the whistle, as themedium arrives at the latter. As the pressure builds up, the soundemitted by the Whistle becomes supersonic. However, when the pressure ishigh enough to make the whistle supersonic, it is high enough to operatethe siren which continues to operate until the pressure falls below thatrequired to sustain the operation thereof. At this point the whistle isno longer supersonic and continues to operate after the wail of thesiren is discontinued. Conit will be The.

sequently, upon release of the trigger 80, the alarm of Fig. 2 begins towhistle, than to wail, and then to whistle again whereby tosubstantially increase the period of time that the alarm operates with acartridge 16 of predetermined capacity, as compared with theconstruction of Fig. 1.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 5, the bumper 52 is omittedsince it is not necessary, in the present embodiment, to retract theplunger after it strikes the cartridge to release the charge from thecartridge. In this connection, the cartridge disc 24A has a pre-formedopening MA which tapers from the inner surface to the outer surface ofthe disc. Said opening is closed by the tapered plug 96. The plungerplug 40A projects from the plunger 20A and has a central passageway 46Awhich communicates with the interior of the plunger and which is inregistry with the seal opening 92A. In all other respects, theconstruction is the same as in Figs. 1 and 2'. When the trigger isoperated to project the plunger 20A from the retracted position thereofillustrated in Fig. 5, the plunger plug 40A strikes the seal plug 96 andforces the latter into the cartridge. The plug 40A abuts the seal 24Aand with the openings 92A and 46A in registry, the pressurized mediumflows through the plumger to operate the siren 22 and whistle 94, aspreviously described.

In holding the alarm 10 ready for use, the user will have his-finger orhand on the trigger 80. If attacked from the rear, without warning, thevoluntary, or involuntary, reaction of closing the hand will besuflicient to release the trigger and energize the alarm which willserve both to call for assistance as Well as to frighten away theassailant.

The holder, the plunger and the trigger may be fabricated fromlight-weight metals or from plastic for making the alarm comparativelyof light weight. The size may also be small enough to carry in a ladyspurse or pocket book. The alarm 10 is re-usable after use, since it isnecessary only to replace the cartridge 16 and reset the plunger.

While We have shown and described the preferred embodiments of ourinvention, it will be understood that various changes may be made in thepresent invention without departing from the underlying idea orprinciples of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. A personal alarm comprising a member having provision to mount-apressurized fluid container, releasably restrained means provided onsaid member and operable upon release thereof to discharge the fluidfrom the container, and noisemaker means disposed relative to saidmember for operation by the pressurized fluid upon dischargeth'ereof,said releasably restrained means being hollow and constituting a conduitfor directing the fluid to said noisemaker means, said conduit having apointed part projecting from one end thereof for piercing the container,said part having a fluid passageway extending therethrough forcommunication with said conduit, and bumper means for retracting saidpointed part automatically from the container for releasing thepressurized fluid therefrom.

2. A personal alarm comprising a member having provision to mount apressurized fluid container having a plugged seal, releasably restrainedmeans provided on said member and operable upon release thereof todischarge the fluid from the container, and noisemaker means disposedrelative to said member for operation by the pressurized fluid upondischarge thereof, said releasably restrained means being hollow andconstituting a conduit for directing the fluid to said noisemaker means,saidconduit having a ram element projecting from one end thereof andoperable to ram the seal plug into the container for'discha'rging thefluid from the container,

and said element having a fluid passageway extending therethrough forcommunication with said conduit.

3. A signal device comprising a holder having provision to receive apressurized fluid container, a hollow plunger in said holder, releasablyrestrained means to drive said plunger against the container todischarge the fluid for flow through said plunger, fluid operatednoisemaker means carried by said plunger in the path of the fluid flowtherethrough, and manually operable trigger means releasably engagedwith said plunger for releasing said restrained means.

4. A personalalarm device comprising a tubular housing having provisionat one end thereof to mount the sealed end of a pressurized fluidcontainer, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one endthereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger endbeing provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of saidplunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape ofthe pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker,spring means within said housing, said spring means being operable, whenstressed, to bias said plunger from a retracted position to a projectedposition thereof for opening said seal, and a trigger mounted externallyof said housing at said other end thereof for movement relative theretofrom a retracted position, in which it retains the plunger in theretracted position of the latter to stress the spring, to a projectedposition for release of the plunger, said trigger having an operatingpart extending outwardly beyond the periphery of the housing in saidretracted condition of the trigger, whereby said movement of saidtrigger may be effected either by a manual operation of said operatingpart or by the dropping or throwing of said device so that said partwill strike against a substantially hard surface.

5. A personal alarm device comprising a tubular housing having provisionat one end thereof to mount the sealed end of a pressurized fluidcontainer, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one endthereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger endbeing provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of saidplunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape ofthe pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker,spring means carried by said plunger within said housing, said plungerbeing operable by said spring from a retracted plunger position in whichthe spring is stressed to a projected plunger position for opening saidseal, and a trigger mounted externally of said housing at the other endthereof, said trigger being movable transversely of said housing from aretracted to a projected position thereof and being provided with a slotthrough which said plunger projects, said plunger having an intermediateportion thereof engaged by the wall of said slot in the retractedpositions of the plunger and the trigger for stressing said spring, saidtrigger having an operating part for effecting movement of the triggerfrom its retracted position to its projected position for disengagingthe wall of said slot from said plunger portion for operation of theplunger by the spring and said operating part extending outwardly beyondthe periphery of said housing in said retracted position of the trigger,whereby said movement of said trigger may be effected either by a manualoperation of said operating part or by the dropping or throwing of saiddevice so that said part will strike against a substantially hardsurface.

6. A personal alarm device comprising a'tubular housing, a pressurizedfluid container having a sealed end secured in one end of said housing,a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one end thereofprojecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger end beingprovided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of said plungerhaving provision to open the container seal for the escape of thepressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker,spring means carried by said plunger within said housing, said plungerbeing operable by said spring from a retracted plunger position in whichthe spring is stressed to' a projected plunger position for opening saidseal, and a'trigger mounted externally of said housing at the other endthereof, said trigger being movable transversely of said housing from aretracted to a projected position thereof and being provided with a slotthrough which said plunger projects, said plunger having an intermediateportion thereof engaged by the wall of said slot in the retractedpositions of the plunger and trigger for stressing said spring, saidtrigger having an operating part for effecting movement of the triggerfrom its retracted position to its projected position for disengagingthe wall of said slot from said plunger portion for operation of theplunger by the spring, and said operating part'extending outwardlybeyond the periphery of said housing in said retracted position of thetriggenwhereby said movement of said trigger may be effected either by amanual operation of said operating part or by the dropping or throwingof said device so that said part will strike against a substantiallyhard surface.

7. A personal alarm device comprising a tubular housing having provisionat one end thereof to mount the sealed end of a pressurized fluidcontainer, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing with one endthereof projecting from the other end of the housing, said plunger endbeing provided with a fluid operated noisemaker, the other end of saidplunger having provision to open the container seal for the escape ofthe pressurized fluid through said plunger to energize said noisemaker,spring means within said housing, said spring means being operable, whenstressed, to bias said plunger from a retracted position to a projectedposition thereof for opening said seal, and a trigger mounted externallyof said housing at said other end thereof for movement relative theretofrom a retracted position, in which it retains the plunger in theretracted position of the latter to stress the spring, to a projectedposition for release of the plunger, said trigger having a portionthereof in releasable engagement with said plunger in the retractedpositions of said plunger and trigger, respectively, and said triggerhaving a finger piece for effecting manual operation thereof todisengage said portion from said plunger for operating said device.

8. A personal alarm device comprising a pressurized fluid containerhaving a puncturable seal at one end thereof, a tubular housing havingone end thereof secured over the sealed end of the container, a hollowplunger mounted within said housing for movement from a retracted to aprojected position thereof, said plunger having one end thereofprojecting from said housing and capped with a fluid operatednoisemaker, the other end of said plunger being provided with apuncturing element, spring means operable to thrust said plunger fromits retracted to its projected position to puncture said seal, triggermeans for effecting said operation of said spring, a resilient bumperpositioned to be compressed in response to said thrusting of saidplunger and operable to withdraw said element from said seal to releasethe fluid, and fluid vent means in said plunger, whereby the releasedfluid flows through said plunger to operate said noisemaker.

9. A personal alarm device as in claim 8, further characterized in thatsaid spring means is constituted by a compression spring which is in itsrelaxed condition when the plunger is in its projected position, thespring modulus of said compression spring being such that there is noinitial compression thereon in said projected position of the plunger,and said bumper being carried by said plunger externally of the housingfor engagement with said housing upon movement of the plunger to itsretracted position, whereby to compress the bumper sufliciently towithdraw said puncturing element from said seal.

'10. .A :pers'onalalarm device comprising a pressurized fiuid' containerhaving one end thereof sealed with a projecting plug,-a tubular housinghaving one end thereof secured over the sealed end of the container, ahollow plunger mounted within said housing for movement from a retractedto a projected position thereof, said plunger having one end thereofprojecting from said housing and capped with a fluid operatednoisemaker, the other'endofsaid'plunger being provided with a projectingram having a fluid passageway therethrough in communication with theinterior of said plunger, and spring means operable to'thrust saidplunger from its retracted to its projected position to drive said ramagainst said plug to force the latter into the container for releasingthe fluid therefrom.

'1=1.- -'A pers'onalalarm device comprising a pressurized fluidcontainer having one end thereof sealed with a projectingzplug, atubular housing having one end thereof secured-overthe sealed end of thecontainer, a hollow plunger mounted within said housing for movementfrom a retracted to a projected position thereof, said plunger havingone end thereof projecting from said housing and capped with a fluidoperated noisernaker, the other end of said plunger being provided witha projecting ram having a fluid passageway therethrough in communicationwith the interior of said plunger and spring means operable 'tothrustsaid plunger from its retracted to its projected position to drive saidram against said plug to force the latter into the container forreleasing the fluid therefrom, and a=manually operable trigger foreffecting said operation of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNiTED STATES PATENTS2,107,981 Ford Feb. 8, 1938 2,386,711 Parker Oct. 9, 1945 2,506,983Williams May 9, 1950 2,554,789 Mer'ola May 29, 1951 2,571,640 lNilliInanOct. 16, 1951 2,626,586 Mendes Jan. 27, 1953

